About the journal
QUILLMOOR has been published quarterly from Dumfries and Galloway since 2013, by volunteers, with no advertising and no commercial interest of any kind.
How it started
The journal began as a duplicated newsletter circulated among a dozen people who counted waders on the same stretch of merse. The first properly printed issue went out in February 2013 to 84 subscribers. It now reaches a little over 900, which is more than anybody expected and still small enough that the editors read every letter.
How it is paid for
Subscriptions, and nothing else. Twenty-two pounds a year covers printing and postage with a small margin that goes to the archive digitisation. Nobody draws a salary. Contributors are not paid.
We have been offered advertising several times and turned it down each time. A journal that reviews no equipment and carries no advertisements can say plainly that a site is being damaged by disturbance, including disturbance caused by birdwatchers, which is a freedom worth more than the revenue.
Who makes it
Four editors, a designer who does the layout for nothing, and around forty contributors a year. We list roles rather than names on this site because the journal is a collective effort and the bylines belong in the issues themselves.
The archive
Every issue since 2013, indexed by species and by site. The index is open to everyone; full text opens to all readers twelve months after publication. Digitisation of the pre-2013 newsletters is underway and slow.